Golf club designs have undergone substantial revision since the early days of the sport, when clubs having wooden shafts and heads were used to strike golf balls made of leather and feathers. Club shafts made of hickory have gradually been replaced by shafts made of steel, titanium, carbon fiber, or other even more exotic materials.
While it is the clubhead of a golf club that transfers energy to the golf ball, it is the golf club shaft that efficiently harnesses the power of a golfer's swing. Modern club shafts are finely tuned to produce the desired amount of shaft flex, shaft torque, and swing speed, and by minimizing the weight of a club shaft swing speeds may be increased. Unfortunately, achieving weight reduction by decreasing the shaft material used in the shaft itself often compromises the performance characteristics of the resulting golf club.